Minsk is not only the capital of Belarus but also one of the most beautiful cities in Eastern Europe. There are a lot of ancient sights in the city which are widely visited by tourists. They include numerous churches, cathedrals, monasteries, chapels, and fortresses. One of the most interesting sights in Minsk is the Cathedral of Saint Virgin Mary. It is an amazingly beautiful building of baroque style. This Roman Catholic cathedral appeared in 1710 but was later destroyed and rebuilt. It used to be a church of the Jesuit monastery.
Shymkent is the third most populous and the first largest city in Kazakhstan[11], one of the largest industrial, commercial and cultural centers of the country. The administrative center of South Kazakhstan region, forms the second largest urban agglomeration in the country.Settlement on the territory of modern Shymkent already existed at the turn of XI−XII centuries. However, there is a hypothesis about earlier it occurs put forward on the basis of the found during archaeological excavations of the burial places dated by specialists to the V−VI centuries. In extant written sources first mention of Shymkent mentioned Central Asian historian Sharaf ad-DIN Ali Ya(e)DDA (1425) in his book "Zafar Nama" ("Book of victories»)
